Target: Men Can Use Women’s Bathrooms in our Stores

AUTHOR:

Faith Driven Consumer

Apr 21, 2016 2:59 PM

Scores only 39 points on the Faith Equality Index; Is there a more faith-compatible choice for Faith Driven Consumers?

Target has entered the national furor over so-called “bathroom bills” by announcing that men can now use women’s bathrooms. Reports The Christian Post, “the Minnesota-based retail giant Target announced Tuesday that transgender people are free to use the bathrooms and fitting rooms in their stores that match the gender they identify with, not their sex.”

Here is part of their statement:

We believe that everyone—every team member, every guest, and every community—deserves to be protected from discrimination, and treated equally. Consistent with this belief, Target supports the federal Equality Act, which provides protections to LGBT individuals, and opposes action that enables discrimination. In our stores, we demonstrate our commitment to an inclusive experience in many ways. Most relevant for the conversations currently underway, we welcome transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity.

Target’s Human Rights Campaign Score (a group representing the LGBT community) is a perfect 100, yet their Faith Equality Index score is a low 39 out of 100. Clearly, while Target openly welcomes the LGBT community, it appears to have little interest in welcoming Christian customers and employees on equal footing with its LGBT customers and employees. We say “on equal footing” because its treatment of different market segments need not be an “either/or” type of policy. We believe that companies like Target can welcome everyone, and let everyone know that they care them as customers and employees.

The problem is, Target appears to be playing the “either/or” game—showing preference to one community while ignoring the values and worldview of Faith Driven Consumers like you and me.

As a Faith Driven Consumers seeking to be welcomed, what can we do about this?

Our answer—shop at Walmart.

Walmart has a 51 out of 100 with the Faith Equality Index. No, it’s not a perfect 100—not even close. But Walmart has clearly shown a greater interest in welcoming Christians along with other communities. By shopping with Walmart, you encourage them to keep going—to improve their score—and to do more to earn your business. And given the $2 trillion dollars our community has to spend, Walmart will benefit from welcoming you, while Target will not.

Target is symbolic with what is wrong with this country. No one takes responsibility for anything. Who is taking responsibility for the children who will become victims in this foolishness. You are, who you were born as. If you have a problem with that, get some help.

My wife and I have signed the petition on Facebook indicating we will no longer shop at Target. In this free commerce society, vote with your dollars! Take your business to a place that does not put the wants of the very few ahead of the obvious safety of all female customers.

I don’t see this as being a Christian issue. This is a safety issue! There have already been reports of men pretending to be transgender in order to get into ladies restrooms and locker rooms. Arrests have been made for assaults, and the list goes on. This is not the right thing to do. If you have male body parts, you use the men’s room. If you have female body parts, you use the ladies room. This is going to cause Alot more violence as well as other problems. But to Target….you are committing financial suicide. I won’t ever shop in one of your stores again! I wouldn’t put my granddaughters in danger for anything you have for sale!

Sent the following message to Target corporate today: I am extremely disappointed with and fearful of Target’s decision to open up female restrooms to biological males. Sexual predators have gone as far as donning glad bags and climbing into outhouse pits to ply their trade, and you have now cleared the path for the harassment and assault of women and girls. Target employees and customers represent an incredible diversity of individuals – your lopsided favoritism of select groups over others exemplifies discrimination and exclusion. As part of Target’s rainbow of diversity, would a devout Christian feel welcomed, honored, and celebrated as a Target employee? What specific actions and economic leverage has Target exercised to ensure the rights and inclusion of people of faith? With a genocide underway in the Middle East, a Target campaign for religious rights would be timely and logical in the spirit of inclusion. Please provide specific, actionable steps Target has taken in the wake of discrimination against Christians. Thank you.